Double Happiness in Columbus, Ohio hosted Japanese rockers, Pinky Doodle Poodle, on October 10th, 2015. The band is on their first US tour, but don’t let their “cute” name fool you—in Yuria’s words, their music is “anything but cute.”

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Pinky Doodle Poodle (or PDP, for short) performed as a trio, including Yuria on lead vocals and bass, George on guitar, and a guest drummer from Buffalo, NY (Patrick). PDP is a high-energy punk rock band with female vocals. With a language barrier separating the band and the audience, the group was presented with a different type of challenge than most bands. However, Yuria took it in stride, cracking a few jokes with the crowd and knowing pretty much the only phrases that matter at a rock show—“Are you guys drinking yet?” and “Buy our merch if you like us!” George didn’t say a word during the performance, and instead let his Les Paul do the talking. Either he was ripping licks behind his head, walking around the audience while soloing, or writhing in the middle of the floor while playing guitar.

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The band did perform an MC5 cover, but the crowd was mostly unaware of the band’s original music. Although the crowd was previously unaware of the band and had a hard time understanding the lyrics, the group performed with such intensity that it didn’t matter what the lyrics were, all that mattered was that the band was an outstanding group of musicians. As the only American member of the band, I heard crowd members flocking to the drummer to discuss the performance. He stated “They’ve really got something going here…” and after seeing Pinky Doodle Poodle at Double Happiness, I can’t help but agree.

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